Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: Opinion

Some pin the blame on "Valley Girl." Back in 1983, teenagers saw Julie and Loryn spouting nonsensically on the big screen and were quick to imitate their open-mouth gum chewing and dopey lingo. All of a sudden, it was cool to be stupid. Not knowing what you were talking about was all the rage, and those who had the audacity to speak with conviction were met with sassy posture and heavily-mascaraed gazes of disapproval.
But that was 16 years ago.

Fast forward and here we are: a generation with an articulation deficiency; rich with potential but absent the vehicle Mojgani named "a sign of how sacred your life actually is." These subversive jests at declaration are so weaved into the way we speak that they become accepted, unnoticed, or taken as commonplace. We are desecrating ourselves.

This problem becomes an epidemic in the Loyola atmosphere. We are tentative; afraid to challenge for fear of being cast as an "other." In a setting where intellectualism carries the stigma of being undesirable, and 4.0s hold less prestige than 40ozs, we purposefully play dumb to appear more aloof; "cooler." It seems childish, but it's the subconscious way we conduct ourselves.
However, it is not irreparable. In his poem "Totally Like Whatever, You Know?" Mali asks "What has happened to our conviction?/Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?" He dares the listener to challenge themselves, to "speak with conviction," and I put forth the same challenge to you.

Be conscious not only of what you say, but how you say it. Delete those needless words from your speech and be not afraid to stand on a limb for once. It's not easy, but the reward is fulfillment. Limbs sometimes break, but don't be scared -- it's totally whatever.
 

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